


Louder Louder

by DoreyG



Category: Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Community: comment_fic, Everybody is a Sad in This, Gen, M/M, Pining, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-07 05:57:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5445752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoreyG/pseuds/DoreyG
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You loved him, didn't you?" Serena asks one day. Eyes wide and bright, jaw set in that certain way that has allowed her to face down a god and live.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Louder Louder

"You loved him, didn't you?" Serena asks one day. Eyes wide and bright, jaw set in that certain way that has allowed her to face down a god and live.

He has to pause for a second, a completely stunned second, before replying. The feeling like he's just been punched in the stomach is too intense to do anything but, "that's somewhat inaccurate."

"Oh? In what way?"

He bites his lip for a long second, spreads his hands on his desk. He used to spend hours in here, with Lysandre. They'd argue about a thousand things, and then laugh about two thousand more, "you used the past tense."

They never kissed.

"My feelings for him are certainly not past tense."

That's a regret that he's going to take to his grave.

"Oh," Serena says, and her eyes widen slightly. The look on her face is close to sympathy, but he doesn't want to examine it too closely, "you do recall that he tried to actually destroy the world, right?"

"And went thoroughly insane while doing so, yes," he sighs, and shakes his head. That's never going to stop being painful, he might as well get used to it, "but... Well, you're young. You might not understand."

"Professor Sycamore," Serena says firmly, "I actually saved the world, remember? You might as well try me."

"Yes, I do recall, but-" he grinds to a halt, in the face of Serena's stubborn expression, hides a smile. She's a good kid, he's frequently proud to know her, "you don't stop loving somebody, just because they do terrible things."

Serena stares at him, thoughtfully.

"It'd be easier if you could," he admits, and looks down to his hands still shakily spread across the table, "but that would be impossible. The human heart isn't a switch, it's something infinitely more complex... And infinitely more precious."

Serena stares at him for another moment, eyes still thoughtful "...I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he says hastily, and then gives a resigned smile "...don't be. You did what had to be done, and shouldn't feel at all bad for a sentimental fool like me. I'll be fine. The world will keep spinning, and that's the important thing."

Serena smiles a little, ducks her head. She's a sensible girl, no doubt she'll be able to face this world far better than him "...do you regret it?"

Him. With his fancies, his fantasies. His wild passions, his disorganised longing. His sentimentality, his fixation on the past. His burning love, that not even a hurricane could uproot.

"I don't think I could," he says gently, and spreads his hands resignedly over his desk again, "now, how is your journey coming along?"


End file.
